A Pandaren's Trust
by K. C. Trexler
Summary: When a traveling Pandaren girl saves a Twilight Dragon from being killed by remnants of the Twilight's Hammer, the dragon discovers what it means to have a true friend. But they have little time to get to know each other before a red dragon decides to bring the two before Alexstrasza herself to decide the Twilight Dragon's fate.


World of Warcraft and all related characters are copyrights of Blizzard Entertainment, used without permission. Lily Silentpaw, Cinder the Twilight Dragon, and Kelastrasza are copyrighted to me.

**Author's Note:** This story takes place approximately 3 weeks after the death of Deathwing.

**A Pandaren's Trust**

The sun was setting upon the horizon, casting the shadow of Nordrassil's massive form across the land below. Thanks in part to both the druids of the Cenarion Circle and the help of the green dragon flight, the mountain was almost fully restored to its former glory before the Twilight's Hammer and Ragnaros' forces had nearly laid waste to the landscape. The work had begun almost immediately following the dragon Aspects victory over Deathwing, the Aspect of Death having finally been laid to rest at the end of a terrible battle that had weakened the Aspects considerably, leaving their flights a pale shadow of what they once were. Still, their powers weren't completely gone.

Alexstrasza had spoken with the leaders of both the Horde and Alliance, assuring them that Deathwing was no more before departing to Wyrmrest Temple to help begin repairing the damage that Deathwing's attack had inflicted upon it. Kalecgos had also returned to Wyrmrest to see if there was some way to bolster the Aspects' waning abilities. Nozdormu immediately returned the Caverns of Time to consult the time ways as best he could, though he had grown frustrated with only seeing small glimpses here and there, instead of the time ways being laid out like a book like they had always been to him. Ysera returned to Hyjal to help her flight restore the mountain alongside a few red dragons that Alexstrasza had sent to ensure that the mountain was clear of hostile forces.

But these events had gone unnoticed by one person who was now venturing through Hyjal's forests. As the light of the sun began to fade, and the light of the moon began to become the dominate fixture in the sky, a lone pandaren girl was busy looking for a suitable campsite for the evening. She was in her early twenties, with light brown fur covering her body except for the cream fur that covered her face. A foxlike tail swished behind her as she walked, her body draped in a simple green tunic and loose fitting black pants. A simple wooden staff was attached to her back with a jug dangling by a small rope at the base of the staff. Her long brown hair was tied into a giant ponytail, the bangs draping over her green eyes colored a bright pink.

"I suppose this will work for tonight," said the girl as she came to a small clearing. She started to reach for her staff to take it off her back when the sound of people talking in the distance caught her attention. The pandaren girl immediately began to smile at the prospect of being able to sit down and enjoy some company with whoever the strangers in the distance were. But before she could even take two steps, a loud, bestial cry erupted from the direction the talking had been coming from. A surprised look immediately replacing the smile, the girl started running in the direction of the cry, worried that her newfound company was now in great danger.

* * *

Hastily constructed tents were erected in a small clearing, the giant limbs of the surrounding trees hiding them from view from the air. A giant campfire sat in the middle of the clearing, shedding its light all around, illuminating the great purple dragon that was now lying on the ground with several charred circles burned into its flesh from a barrage of fire spells, an angry glare directed towards the five humans who stood only a few yards away. Four of the humans were dressed in rich purple robes, the fifth in a pure black robe with blood red trim.

"Dragon…We've been doing this even since you were hatched two weeks ago. All you have to do to stop us from continuing to punish you is to simply give in to us and obey our commands," said the human in the black robes. The dragon struggled to get to its feet, but the pain from its wounds was too much for it to bear, and it collapsed into a heap again, yet its glare never left the human's eyes.

"I…will never…submit…" hissed the dragon as best it could in its greatly weakened state.

"Galrok, I think it's time we give up on this thing," said one of the purple robed humans.

"I agree, this stupid dragon's been nothing but a disappointment," said another human.

"Perhaps you are right…" said the black robed human. "After all, what is a twilight dragon that won't listen to its master any good for?" The dragon's eyes opened wide in terror as the five humans all raised their hands towards it, their palms igniting into flames as they all prepared their strongest fire spells.

"I would back off if I were you," said a strong feminine voice from behind the humans. The flames flickering at their fingertips faded away as the five humans turned around to come face to face with a female creature the likes of which they had never laid eyes upon before.

"What manner of creature is that Galrok? A mutant furbolg maybe?" asked one of the humans.

"I'll have you know I am a pandaren," said the creature, her face twisted into a scowl. "I'll also have you know that I am not about to let you kill this creature when it clearly cannot fight back."

"You're welcome to try and stop us if you want, pandaren. However, looking at the odds of five against one, I'd say it would be best if you kept moving and forgot you even saw us," said Galrok.

"I say we kill her anyways. She could let it be known that we're still on the mountain," said one of the other humans. At this, Galrok smiled and raised a hand towards the pandaren, flames reigniting on his fingers.

"I agree," said Galrok.

"If you wish to fight me, I have no arguments. But just so you know, you won't win," said the pandaren.

"We'll just see about that!" shouted Galrok, launching a ball of fire from his hand. The fireball whizzed through the air, but at the last second the pandaren leapt high above the attack, which crashed harmlessly into a tree behind her. All eyes turning to the skies, the other humans all unleashed their own fire spells at the girl. But the girl cupped her hands in front of her, then launched a ball of strange blue energy of her own at her attackers, the fireballs dispersing as they made contact with pandaren's energy ball. The humans all dove for cover as the ball crashed into the ground right where they had all been standing, leaving a small indentation in the ground. The girl then landed in the middle of the indentation. She then charged one of the purple robed humans, delivering a strong hand thrust to his chest, sending the human sprawling several yards across the ground to come to rest in a heap.

"You shall pay for that, insolent worm!" shouted one of the other humans, preparing to attack her with another fire spell. But this time as the spell was sent flying her way, she instead curled up into a ball and rolled across the ground, dodging the spell and ending up right at the feet of the human that had launched the attack. Uncurling, she performed a backflip, catching the human in the face with a hard kick that knocked him into the air a few feet before landing hard on his back.

"Enough of this!" shouted Galrok. He then pointed both hands at the girl and chanted a few words in the demonic language. The girl suddenly froze in mid run towards the third human she had set her eyes upon.

"What sort of magic is this!?" she cried, struggling to move any part of her body, but finding it impossible to do so. Galrok chuckled as he calmly walked up next to her.

"A little something a warlock once taught me. Normally this binding spell is used to keep our dragon bound so there is little he can do to harm us. But at the moment, I doubt he is much of a threat. You, on the other hand, are far more dangerous than you appear to be," said Galrok. "Still, you put up a good fight, so I shall grant you a quick death." He raised his hand towards the girl, another fire spell beginning to form on his hand. "Any last words, pandaren?" A smile crept its way onto the pandaren's face.

"Just one. Farewell," she said. Before Galrok could even begin to make sense of what she meant, he was slammed hard in the side by a powerful blow from the twilight dragon's mace-like tail, instantly killing him even before he made solid contact with the first tree in his airborne flight path. With the caster of the binding spell now dead, the magic was broken as the girl regained use of her limbs.

"The dragon's free! Run for your lives!" shouted one of the purple robed humans. The four of them immediately began to scatter into the forest, leaving the dragon and pandaren girl alone.

"Good riddance," said the girl. A loud groan turned her attention to the dragon as it collapsed, the last of its strength spent on its attack. "Oh no! You are much more injured than I thought!" The girl reached for the jug hanging off her staff, taking it off and unplugging the stopper. She then ran over to the dragon, kneeling down next to its head and offering the jug to it. "Here. Drink this. It will help you."

"Leave me…alone…"whispered the dragon, its eyes barely staying open as it fought to stay conscious.

"Do not argue with me," said the girl softly. The dragon hesistated, then opened its mouth. The girl then poured the contents of the jug into the dragon's waiting maw, the dragon then swallowing what it could of it. It then coughed a few times, before sticking its tongue out.

"That is…terrible…" it whispered.

"It's medicine. It's not supposed to taste good. Now then, rest and I will see what else I can do about your wounds," she said. The dragon watched as she took a few steps away from it, then held out her hands in much the same manner as the humans had when they had wielded their fire spells. _Oh I wish I had studied the arts of the Mistweavers a little more than just those few introductory lessons,_ she thought. The dragon, seeing this stance, tensed in preparation of what it surely thought would be painful. But instead, a strange green mist began to emanate from the pandaren's hands. It slowly engulfed the dragon, who winced at first, expecting the mist to hurt, but it instead felt soothing to the touch. The girl glanced down at the dragon's eyes, seeing it was still awake. "I told you to rest. I will watch over you incase those people return." The dragon sighed before closing its eyes, allowing sleep to take over.

An hour later, the pandaren girl sat at the edge of the campfire left by the humans, the dragon resting off to her side. The wounds inflicted by the humans' fire spells had been healed thanks to the girl's healing mist. A grunt coming from the dragon's mouth caught the attention of the girl, who glanced over at the great beast. She watched as its eyes slowly began to blink open, then suddenly open wide as it sprang to its legs, fire flickering in its mouth.

"Where are you Twilight scum!?" it cried.

"It is alright. They have not returned," said the girl, catching the dragon's attention. Suddenly recalling what it had witnessed the girl do, the dragon's tense stance relaxed.

"That does not surprise me…They are cowards at heart," said the dragon, wincing as pain shot through its body.

"Take it easy, my friend. Your wounds may be healed, but your body still requires rest to fully recuperate," said the girl. Nodding, the dragon laid back down.

"So…Why did you do it?" asked the dragon, looking at the girl.

"Do what?" she asked.

"Stand up for me," said the dragon.

"How could I not?" asked the girl, looking back into the flames of the fire. "No one deserves to be treated like that, no matter what the reason."

"I see…" said the dragon. "You _do _realize I am a twilight dragon?"

"I had a feeling you were from the stories I've heard over the last few months of purple dragons wielding terrible powers," said the girl, still not taking her eyes off the fire. "But why should that matter?" At hearing this, the dragon cocked its head, now wondering if the person before it was unclear of his flight's purpose or was just plain insane.

"So then…You do not fear that I will kill you now that I am healed and go on a warpath of death and destruction?" asked the dragon. At this, the girl finally turned and faced the dragon, a smile on her face.

"I do not. I saw you denounce what I'm guessing was the Twilight's Hammer, so you cannot be as evil as the stories say," said the girl. "And as I said, no one should go through that kind of suffering, even if they are evil." At this, the dragon cracked a grin.

"A heart that does not judge by outward appearances…Very rare indeed this day in age," said the dragon.

"It is a lesson all us pandaren are taught. To live life to the fullest, never judging others by what you have been told, but by personal experiences with those people that you share," said the girl. "You saved my life, even if you were doing it without thinking about it. I owe you a great deal more than I could ever repay."

"I think the debt has been paid in kind, dear girl," said the dragon. "May I ask your name, so that I remember the person who freed me from my shackles?"

"Of course. My name is Lily Silentpaw, windwalker monk of the Shang Xi monastery on the Wandering Isle," said the girl.

"Lily? A nice name," said the dragon.

"And what is yours, if I may ask?" asked Lily. At this, the dragon lowered his head, looking away from her.

"I was never given a name. The human who tried to control me told me I'd have to earn my name by obeying him," said the dragon.

"Then I shall name you, if that is okay with you?" asked Lily. At this the dragon chuckled.

"I do not have a problem with that," said the dragon.

"I find it odd that you wouldn't have a problem with that," said Lily, arching an eyebrow at the dragon.

"I'm curious to know what a mortal like you would name a dragon," said the dragon. The girl lowered her head in thought for a little bit, then raised it as a name came to her.

"Okay. I thought of one, but do tell me if it sounds bad," said Lily.

"I will," said the dragon.

"Cinder," said the girl.

"Cinder…" repeated the dragon. He reflected on the name for a short time, then nodded his head. "It is not a terrible name. I can think of a few worse ones, honestly."

"Is it acceptable?" asked Lily.

"It is. Thank you for naming me," said the dragon.

"My pleasure Cinder," said the girl. The two sat in quiet for several more minutes, then Lily looked over at Cinder again, this time with a question filled look on her face. "So what will you do now?"

"I do not know," said Cinder, looking down at the ground. "My kind is pretty much despised across the whole of Azeroth after the atrocities my brood has caused."

"Which makes me wonder why you are so nice considering you're a twilight dragon," said Lily.

"That is a question I would like answered too," said a female voice from behind the pair. Cinder quickly rose to his feet and walked in front of Lily, growling loudly as flames flickered at the corners of his mouth as he stared down the high elf that now stood behind them. She was dressed in a red robe with purple trim, her white hair flowing down her back to her waist. Her eyes, however, held a fiery glow behind them that was uncharacteristic of the elves.

"You…I smell the scent of another dragon on you, stranger," said Cinder. "Are you another twilight dragon come to kill me for going against our kind?"

"I am nothing of the sort, twilight dragon," said the high elf.

"Then who are you?" asked Lily.

"Dear me, where are my manners?" said the high elf. She then bowed to the pair. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Kelastrasza. One of the keepers of Wyrmrest Temple."

"A red dragon?" asked Cinder.

"Yes. And a much more curious one than most. Normally my kind wouldn't even lay an ounce of trust in one of your flight," said Kelastrasza. She then motioned at Lily. "But this mortal girl has shown you more trust than I've ever seen anyone give a twilight dragon. And you have, in return, given some of your trust to her."

"Cinder saved my life from the Twilight's Hammer. He is not like the others of his flight," said Lily.

"He did?" asked Kelastrasza, letting amazement wash over her face. Quickly collecting herself, she returned her attention to Cinder. "Tell me, Cinder, why did you save the girl's life and go against your masters?" At this, Cinder's face grew cold.

"They were _never_ my masters. As for why I saved Lily, she stood up for me first. I couldn't let harm come to someone who was willing to put themselves in harm's way for me," said Cinder.

"I see…" said Kelastrasza. She then shook her head. "Clearly something is different about you, twilight dragon, because you definitely do not act like any of your flight any of us have come across before."

"Is that so bad?" asked Lily.

"No…But, it does present me with a problem," said Kelastrasza.

"And that would be…?" asked Lily.

"We are under orders from Alexstrasza herself to kill any twilight dragons we come across, lest their kind begin to spread again," said Kelastrasza. "But seeing this…good natured twilight dragon has put me in a bad situation."

"Bad how?" asked Cinder.

"Normally I would have no problem killing a twilight dragon, but I cannot in good faith kill one like you," said Kelastrasza. Here she hesistated, but then shook her head softly "But then again...I fear I have little choice." Kelastrasza raised her hands towards Cinder, fire igniting on her fingers as she prepared to channel her draconic powers into an attack. But before the attack could be performed, Lily ran in between the two dragons.

"Stop this!" cried Lily.

"Move out of the way mortal. This does not concern you," said Kelastrasza firmly.

"I will not," said Lily with just as much firmness. The flames at Kelastrasza's fingers suddenly swept back over her arms and raced across her body, her form morphing from high elf to that of a dragon that dwarfed Cinder, standing nearly twice his size.

"Do not meddle in affairs that are not your own!" roared Kelastrasza, flames flickering from her mouth.

"You know this isn't right!" shouted Lily, remaining between the two.

"Do not think I won't simply move you out of the way before killing the twilight dragon," said Kelastrasza. At this, Lily took a fighting stance.

"You are welcome to try dragon, but I will not make it easy on you," said Lily. At this, Kelastrasza paused.

"You are really willing to fight to protect this twilight dragon, even against a powerful dragon like myself?" asked Kelastrasza.

"You had better believe it," said Lily, fire glinting in her eyes. Kelastrasza hesitated for a few seconds, then sighed, lowering her head.

"The courage and honor of mortals…never ceases to surprise me," said Kelastrasza. She then morphed herself back into her high elf form. "Still, I cannot simply pretend I did not meet the two of you. Alexstrasza would brand me a traitor if she found out I let a twilight dragon go free."

"Then let me come before the dragon queen," said Cinder. "Let her judge my fate."

"Cinder, she would kill you before you'd have a chance to plea you case," said Lily.

"Your friend is right. After all the damage your flight has caused, Alexstrasza will be very hard to convince to allow you to live, even with me at your side," said Kelastrasza. She then cocked her head as thought passed through her mind. "Still…Alexstrasza might be willing to listen to what your mortal friend has to say about you. Our kind owes a great debt to the mortals of this world after all they have done to defend it against Deathwing."

"If you are asking me to travel to this Wyrmrest Temple with the two of you and speak to the queen of dragons, I would be honored to do so if you think it would keep Cinder safe," said Lily. At hearing this, Kelastrasza smiled.

"You truly have one of the purest hearts I have ever seen. Very few would be willing to face the Life-Binder to defend one of her most hated enemies," said Kelastrasza. She then clasped her hands together. "Alright. I suppose we should turn in for the night then. We have a long flight ahead of us in the morning."

"You're staying the night with us?" asked Cinder.

"I have no choice, I'm afraid," said Kelastrasza as she started walking in their direction. "I am not the only person, dragon or mortal, that is surveying the mountain for signs of our enemies. If I were to leave you alone and another finds you, I doubt they would show you as much restraint as I have."

"I see," said Lily.

"How do I know you won't simply kill me in the middle of the night while I am asleep?" asked Cinder, eyeing Kelastrasza suspiciously.

"You don't," said Kelastrasza as she reached the two of them. "Still, this mortal has given her trust to you, as have I. All I ask is that you place a little bit of trust in me. I promise that if you do not threaten us, I will not threaten you."

"You have not earned my trust, red dragon," said Cinder. He then looked over at Lily for a few seconds, who looked over at him as the two exchanged a silent message between them. He then sighed and looked back at Kelastrasza. "However, for Lily, I will give you a sliver of my trust."

"Very well," said Kelastrasza. She then turned around and walked a few paces away from the two friends before stopping and kneeling down the ground, placing both her hands on the grassy floor of the forest. "The only thing I hate about sleeping in the wilderness in this form is that there is never any comfortable spots unless I make one." Her hands then burst into flames. But instead of the grass burning away from the touch of the flames, it instead started to rapidly grow and flower as Kelastrasza used her magic to cause the foliage to grow into a soft bed of vegetation. The fire then faded from her hands as she stood back up, a few beads of sweat having formed on her forehead. She then turned back to her two companions. "Alright then. We should turn in for the night, because we have a long flight in the morning."

"Are you okay?" asked Lily, noticing the sweat on Kelastrasza's forehead.

"I will be fine. It just takes a little bit out of me to conjure even the most basic of life giving magic since Deathwing's death," said Kelastrasza. "A sacrifice all of our flights made to stop the Hour of Twilight from happening."

"I see. I am sorry for your loss," said Lily.

"It was a necessary sacrifice. Our world survived because of it," said Kelastrasza. She then sat down on the foliage she had grown. "But enough of that. It is time to let sleep embrace us."

"Alright. I shall see the two of you in the morning then," said Lily. She then leapt up into a nearby tree and sat with her back against the trunk on a fairly large branch.

"How can you sleep up in a tree?" asked Cinder, looking up at Lily.

"I have done this since I was thirteen. You get used to it," said Lily.

"If you say so," said Cinder. He then lowered himself to the ground and curled up. "Until the light of the dawn when I shall see you both again."

* * *

The time was nearing 3am, the campfire in the three companions clearing having faded to just embers by now. Lily still sat up in the tree she had chosen, but had not fallen asleep yet. While she wanted to trust that Kelastrasza would not attack Cinder in his sleep, a small part of her was still unwilling to fully place her trust in the red dragon. The sudden rustle noise of leaves caught her attention. At first, she didn't think anything of it. But she couldn't shake the feeling that something about the sound of the leaves was out of place. Suddenly bolting upright as she realized there was no wind, she leapt to her feet on the tree limb. Looking over at where she had heard the noise come from, she spotted the very tip of an arrow coming out of the leaves of a tree on the other side of the clearing. _Oh no! Cinder!_ she thought. Taking her staff off her back, she hurled it as hard as she could towards Cinder's back, the arrow almost instantly firing from the other tree. While the shot was perfectly lined up to pierce the back of Cinder's head, the arrow instead imbedded itself in Lily's staff as it passed into the arrow's trajectory, the attack failing as the staff struck the ground.

"We are under attack!" shouted Lily, instantly causing both Kelastrasza and Cinder to awaken from the noise. The tree the arrow had come from rustled again, followed closely by a further away tree rustling. Lily frowned, realizing what might happen if their attacker managed to get away. Leaping down to her staff, the pandaren quickly retrieved the weapon and strapped it onto her back before running in the direction the rustle noises had come from, leaving both the dragons behind wondering what was going on.

"Stop!" shouted Lily as she ran after the noise of the trees rustling, watching for any sign of the attacker. Realizing she wouldn't catch whoever it was so long as they stayed hidden in the trees, she opted for a new strategy. Coming to a stop, she listened as she timed out how long it took for the person to leap from tree to tree. As the pattern became clear, Lily cupped her hands together in front of her, firing a ball of blue chi energy at one of the trees just past where the last rustle noise had come from, instantly taking off after the ball. As soon as there was a rustle of the leaves in the tree Lily had aimed at, the ball of energy slammed into the tree, jarring it hard. A female voice cried out before someone fell out of the tree and landed hard on their back, crying out in the language of the Kaledorei painfully as Lily ran up beside her. The girl was purple skinned Night Elf, with bright green hair done up in a ponytail. She wore the traditional garb of the sentinels, plus a quiver of arrows on her back and a longbow that she had dropped next to her when she had hit the ground.

"I will not die so easily, Twilight cultist," said the girl as she flipped onto her feet and took a fighting stance.

"Hold on! I am not with the Twilight's Hammer," said Lily, holding her hands up.

"A likely story. I saw how Kelastrasza was being held captive by your twilight dragon," said the girl. "And then you saved the dragon from me ending its life. If that doesn't show you are part of the Twilight's Hammer, I don't know what will."

"Please calm down. Let us talk," said Lily, lowering her hands.

"I will not bargain with scum like you!" shouted the girl, rushing at Lily and throwing a solid punch at her. But the pandaren merely moved slightly to avoid the punch, then moved slightly again to avoid the next one. But on the third such attempt to land a blow, Lily reached up and caught the elf by the wrist.

"I said, please calm down," said Lily, pushing the night elf away from her, causing the girl to loss her balance and fall to the ground. Lily then removed the staff from her back, twirled it a few times in her hands, then took a fighting stance with the weapon. "I do not wish to harm you, but if you continue to attack me, I will defend myself."

"Enough!" shouted Kelastrasza's voice from above the two girls, causing both to look up in the sky to spot Kelastrasza flying down to the two of them. The night elf girl quickly got back to her feet, but otherwise remained stationary. As the dragon landed, Kelastrasza reverted back to her high elf form. "Koela Windsong…I thought you were back at the base camp."

"You did not come back. We got worried and sent out a few of our rangers to find you," said the night elf.

"You did not think I could take care of myself?" asked Kelastrasza.

"Clearly we misjudged that you could," said Koela. She then motioned with her head in the direction of the campsite. "And what is the story with this twilight dragon? Why have you not killed it yet?"

"The twilight dragon is under my protection. I am taking him before Alexstrasza," said Kelastrasza.

"You would save yourself the trip to Wyrmrest by just killing it. Alexstrasza wouldn't let it live even a minute in her presence," said Koela.

"You are probably right, but I have my reasons for allowing him an audience with her," said Kelastrasza.

"And what of the furry creature?" asked Koela, looking over at Lily.

"She is joining us. This mortal has placed her full trust in this twilight dragon. Something that I have never seen a mortal do. She may be the voice of reason needed when this twilight dragon appears before the Life-Binder," said Kelastrasza.

"I see…," said Koela. She then walked up to Lily and offered her hand to the pandaren. "I am sorry I attacked you before I knew what was going on. May I ask your name?"

"I am Lily Silentpaw. I am just glad that no one was hurt," said Lily, taking the elf's hand and shaking it.

"I think I was the only one in danger of being hurt," said Koela, releasing her grasp on Lily's hand. "Your fighting style is something the likes of which I've never seen before. You moved like the air itself. Even our best elven warriors can't move like that." Hearing this, Lily smiled.

"I would be happy to teach you the basics of the windwalker fighting style someday if you'd like," said Lily.

"Perhaps, though I'm much better with a bow than I am in close combat," said Koela.

"Seeing as how the night elves are now looking for me, I would like you to return to the base camp and call off the search for me, then let Ysera know what is going on. I don't wish to keep her in the dark about this situation," said Kelastrasza.

"I can do that much. Again, I am sorry I attacked without knowing the full situation," said Koela.

"It is alright," said Lily.

"Now then, let us go back to the campsite," said Kelastrasza. Lily nodded her head in agreement. But as they headed back, a change had happened to Lily's judgment. Now she could trust Kelastrasza, for the red dragon had stood up for Cinder and herself.


End file.
